Under the Amrita Life Skills and Value Education (ALIVE) plan and Nalla Padam project, our school students visited various orphanages, an old age home and homes for the needy on the 22nd of November, 2014. For the students, this visit was an eye-opener as they entered into a world which helped them to imbibe values such as compassion, love, respect, a helping mentality, caring for others etc.
As a part of these projects, our students visited the inmates of Mattannur Balasadanam, Kannur Balikasadanam, Kuthuparamba Snehanikethan and Kanichar Valayamchal colony. Before the visit by the students, our school administration group had made a visit to these places and noted down their needs; this was passed on to the students and parents later on for their information.
We received a total of around Rs. 79,000 from staff and the parents. This amount was used to buy gifts for the inmates of the above mentioned institutions, the details of which are given below.
Total Collection
Parents’ Donation – 20,660
Amrita Nidhi – 9236
Money Box from class – 4448
Class IX-A students – 5000
Staff Contribution – 6400
45,744
School (Tour Balance) – 33,154
78,894
Total amount spent
Fridge – 14,500
T.V – 6500
Projector – 26,000
Grinder – 5000
Watermelon – 850
Stabilizer – 1300
Bed Sheet – 350
Mat – 3893
Stationary – 4300
Stationary – 3505
Inverter Battery – 12,700
78,898
Visit to Bala Sadanam, Mattanur
Our schools’ 9th and 10th standard boys along with a group of teachers visited Mattanur Kolari Bala Sadanam. The team spent their day with the 32 boys there and also had lunch with them. The boys from the sadanam shared their thoughts and experiences with our students; later a representative among them spoke to our students and thanked us for the gifts we had taken for them. One of our teachers, Ms. Veena spoke on this occasion and promised them continued support from our school. The gifts that we offered were:
Projector-1, Inverter Battery-1, Books-33, Atta-1packet, Clothes bundles-7, Paper-1 packet, Washing Soap-5, Bathing Soap-20, Washing Powder – 3packets, Toothpaste-20, Ball-1, Shuttle bat-4, shuttle cock-7, Carrom board-1, Carrom coins-1 box, Carrom powder-1 box, brush-10, Water melon – 4, Fruits – 16kg, Rice – 25 kg, Grains – 5kg.
Visit to Balika Sadanam, Chalad
The 9th and 10th standard girls along with another group of teachers visited the 68 girls at Kannur Balika Sadanam, Pallikunnu. Our children had a nice time with them as the girls spoke to them about their life at the Balika Sadanam. The girls there were very happy to share the news about the upcoming marriage of one among them. Our students were really sad when they heard that these girls missed their parents a lot. The last part of the day was spent in gifting the girls many goodies. The gifts were:
Fridge-1, Stabilizer-1, Grinder-1, Books-50, Atta-1 packet, Brush-24, Shuttle cork-3, Toothpaste-24, Washing soap-7, Washing powder-3 packets, Bathing soap-33, Rice-25kg, Paper-2 packets, Clothes bundles – 8, Grains-5kg, Fruits-23kg and Water melon-4.
Visit to Valayam Chalil Colony
Our 8th standard students visited the 40 families at Valayam Chalil Colony along with a group of teachers. The families listened carefully to the purpose of our visit, and later on Panchayat member Elsamma spoke about her experiences during her tenure and thanked us for making the students aware of their surroundings. Our school gifted the families of Valayam Chalil Colony with the following items:
TV-1, Clothes bundles-14, Mat-40, Blankets- 17, Fruits-18kg, Rice-1 packet(25 kg)+loose rice, Grains-6kg, Tea powder-2 packets. Our students also donated pens, pencils, soaps, brushes and fancy items like bangles, chains, etc.
Visit to Snehanikethan, Palaparamba
Our 11th and 12th standard students visited the Palaparamba Old Age Home along with a group of teachers and our Principal. The inmates there were very happy to meet our students and spoke to them about their life at the home; they also related the story of their lives. Our students learnt many valuable lessons from the elderly inmates of the home. This interactive session with the students rejuvenated most of the old people as well, and they blessed the children for taking the initiative to meet the old people. Our school also gifted them the following items:
Clothes bundles -2, Fruits – 24kg, Rice- 25kg, Watermelon-3, Grains-5kg, Washing Soap-3, Bathing soap-10 and Toothpaste-12.
Along with these projects, we have our ‘Amrita Phalam’ project under which each child and staff brought one fruit which was later distributed among the inmates of these institutions. Our school has committed itself to go further with such socially relevant issues in the future also.
On the whole, these trips were something all of us here will remember for the rest of our lives.
